India to make determined bid for NSG membership

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will lead India's bid for full membership in the four international export control regimes — the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Group.

The Foreign Secretary was to address representatives of the 45-member NSG on March 28 in Vienna, but the interaction was pushed back to a date mismatch.

“The fact that the Foreign Secretary will be leading India's bid is indicative of the importance that India attaches to the process of gaining full membership of the NSG,” said government sources. Observers, however, felt that obtaining NSG membership may be the most difficult for India given its close association with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

However, with every NSG plenary revising the export control list in consistency with the assessment of proliferation trends, officials said it was important for India, as a major player, to be in the organisation.

Besides engaging with the NSG, senior Indian officials would continue to be engaged with other governments through various outbreak meetings. India would also have bilateral engagement with individual members.

India is already an adherent to the NSG and MTCR guidelines but does not, as it is not a full member, have a direct say in deciding on changes in norms.

India intended to take this process forward along the lines which ensured progress towards getting the memberships of all the four organisations while simultaneously taking into account the possibility of region-specific sensitivities. This issue was discussed in detail during Ms. Rao's visit to Washington last month.

SUMMIT-LEVEL SUPPORT

India had already secured summit-level support — from the United States, Russia and France — which is expected to impart the initial momentum, for this endeavour. Several member countries in the four international export control regimes had been positive to India's bid.

“This acknowledgement is based on India's impeccable non-proliferation record and the benefits that the non-proliferation regime will get [through] India's full membership [in] the four regimes,” the sources said.

Asked to comment on the approval granted by the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Directors to the safeguard agreement for Chashma III & IV, sources said this was not unexpected. India had raised the issue with a number of countries, including China. Although a number of countries had expressed concerns regarding China's supply of two additional reactors to Pakistan, it appeared that China has had its way.